1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for a recording medium, more particularly relates to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for a recording medium in which a mechanical portion for performing the recording and/or reproduction of an information signal has a supporting mechanism which supports the recording and/or reproducing portion in a state where it is spaced away from an inner surface of a housing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, as a recording medium of an information signal, a tape recording medium such as a magnetic tape, and a disc-like recording medium such as an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, and a magnetic disc (hereinafter simply referred to as a "disc") have been used. There has been proposed a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus for performing the recording or reproduction of the information signal with respect to such discs.
Among such disc recording and/or reproducing apparatuses, an automobile disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus configured so as to be installed and used in the passenger compartment of an automobile has been used. When an automobile disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus is installed and used in an automobile, if the vibration and shock accompanying with the driving of the automobile is applied to the disc drive portion serving as the recording and/or reproducing portion performing the recording and/or reproduction of the information signal with respect to the disc, the recording or reproduction of the disc cannot be performed well. When vibration and shock are applied during the recording or reproduction operation, a head device provided in the disc drive portion fluctuates in its position relative to the disc and becomes unable to correctly follow the track formed on the disc. When the tracking operation of the disc by the head device is interrupted, where the information signal is music, the interruption of the read out of the information signal from the disc or the scanning of another track by the head device causes a so-called "sound jump", that is, a discontinuity in what should be a continuous series of audio signals.
Therefore, the disc drive portion of an automobile disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus is supported by a supporting mechanism so that its parts have constant interval or distance from the inner surface of the outer housing. Namely, the disc drive portion is designed to be suspended by a plurality of springs to form the supporting mechanism from the outer housing in which the disc drive portion is accommodated. One end of each of these springs is engaged with an engagement portion of the disc drive portion, while the other end is engaged with an engagement portion provided on the inner surface of the outer housing. In this way, the disc drive portion is supported by the supporting mechanism spaced by a predetermined distance from the inner surface of the outer housing, whereby even if vibration and shock are applied while the automobile is being driven, the vibration and shock will be absorbed, so almost no vibration and shock will be transferred to the disc drive portion.
In a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus configured in this way, when a low frequency vibration occurs or the outer housing is tilted, the disc drive portion will move inside the outer housing. If the disc drive portion moves in the inside of the outer housing in this way, the vibration and shock applied to the outer housing will not be sufficiently absorbed by the supporting mechanism, so the vibration and shock from the outside will be applied to the disc drive portion, and the disc drive portion may strike the inner surface of the outer housing. For this reason, the disc drive portion must be supported at the neutral position inside the outer housing. This "neutral position" is the position where the disc drive portion becomes equi-distant from the inner surface of the outer housing in all directions. By supporting the disc drive portion at the neutral position of the outer housing, as a result, no matter from what direction the vibration and shock are applied, the disc drive portion will not strike the inner surface of the outer housing.
Note that there are cases where the automobile recording and/or reproducing apparatus mentioned above has to be able to be used not only in a horizontal state, but also in a state where it is inclined or in a state where it is perpendicular according to the position in the passenger compartment of the automobile where it is installed. For example, considering this by using a case where a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus is installed in a passenger car as an example, the outer housing of the apparatus can be horizontally installed when installed on the floor under the passenger seat or on the floor of the trunk. However, when installed under the dashboard or at the back of a seat back, the outer housing sometimes can be installed only in an inclined state or vertical state. Even when the apparatus is installed in the trunk, it is sometimes convenient to install the outer housing in a vertical state depending on the size of the trunk.
For this reason, in the automobile disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus mentioned before, the supporting mechanism for supporting the disc drive portion with respect to the outer housing is configured so that the springs to form the supporting mechanism can be reattached in accordance with the angle of inclination at the time of installation of the outer housing. Namely, the springs are reattached in a state where they are engaged with the engagement portions of the outer housing at positions above this disc drive portion so that when the disc drive portion is suspended from the top of the outer housing it is supported at the neutral position irrespective of the state of inclination of the outer housing.
As the supporting mechanism, there is one configured to enable the engagement portions of the outer housing to be continuously moved. In this supporting mechanism, the engagement portions are moved in accordance with the state of inclination at the time of installation of the outer housing so as to be located above the disc drive portion, whereby the springs form the supporting mechanism suspend the disc drive portion from the top of the outer housing in the same way as in the case mentioned above. As a result, the disc drive portion is supported at the neutral position.
In an automobile disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus which supports the disc drive portion by using the above-mentioned supporting mechanism, however, in order to enable the reattachment of the springs constituting this supporting mechanism, it is necessary to provide a plurality of engagement portions in the outer housing for each spring and further to provide an opening in the outer housing for performing the reattachment of the springs. For this reason, not only does the structure become complex, but also the apparatus itself becomes larger in size. Further, the manufacturing process such as the assembly and the like becomes complex. Furthermore, since an opening is provided in the outer housing, the outer appearance may be ruined.
Even in a case where the engagement portions are constituted so as to be able to be moved, the complexity and enlargement in size of the structure of the apparatus itself and further a greater complexity of manufacturing process are induced and, at the same time, the design of the outer housing is limited as well as the above-mentioned configuration.
As explained above, in a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus requiring the reattachment of the springs to form the supporting mechanism or the movement of the engagement portions in accordance with the state of installation of the outer housing or the angle of inclination of the outer housing, the operation for reattachment of the springs or the operation for movement are troublesome and, accordingly, the user of the apparatus is forced to perform additional work. These operations are easily forgotten or mistakenly performed when the apparatus is first installed, or the position of installation is moved, etc. So the disc drive portion can no longer be supported at the neutral position, and accordingly it becomes impossible to guarantee stable recording and/or reproduction of the information signal.
Further, in the disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus mentioned above, when the angle of inclination changes during use, since it is not possible to reattach the springs or move the engagement portions at that time, it similarly becomes impossible to guarantee the stable recording and/or reproduction of the information signal.